Hadrien Macq : back to the roots

After a 14-month post-doc at the Technical University of Munich, Hadrien Macq returned to Liège as a FNRS research fellow.

In Munich, you learned that you had been awarded an SNSF research fellowship. How did you feel about this news?

Very well, of course! I really see this mandate as an opportunity to come back home, to this city and this university to which I am very attached. I did all my studies in political science in this Faculty, and then I traveled quite a bit. I went to Geneva and Paris for my thesis, did a post-doc at UCL and then to Munich, where I stayed for 14 months. Even if I came back several times to the University of Liege in the meantime, this time I have the chance to have a 3-year contract. This is quite comfortable and rare in the post-doc world.

Can you tell us more about your research project?

I am interested in the use of digital twins in the governance of cities. In simple terms, a digital twin is a 3D digital representation from which one can test, experiment, before considering an application in the "material" world. This emerging tool is starting to be used in a whole range of domains (for example in the manufacturing industry or the medical sector) and is opening up new perspectives and new questions for the governance of cities.

For example, the digital twin can be used as a basis for defining a new mobility plan for a large city. Potentially, simulations can be performed that take into account traffic flows of cars, pedestrians, real estate developments, etc., before moving on to the actual public policy.

In short, it is a solution full of promise, but it also raises questions that I find fascinating. Representing material life in data implies choices, a selection of certain information to the detriment of others, networks of actors and particular interests... How do we make these choices? Which actors use these tools? Does the population have access to them?

You were in Munich when you developed and submitted your research project. Did your stay influence your approach in any way?

Yes, absolutely, it was even decisive! First, during my postdoc at the Department of Science, Technology, & Society in Munich, I heard about the concept of the digital twin. I am preparing a workshop on this topic for next spring, in collaboration with other researchers from Munich and Hamburg.

Moreover, my mobility in Munich, but also my previous experiences abroad, were very positively evaluated by the FNRS and certainly played a role in obtaining my mandate.

You got your mandate on the first try, that's pretty rare..

Indeed, it was doubly good news! I really take it as a collective victory and not just a personal achievement. I was lucky enough to benefit from a huge support from the Research Unit team: Julie Colemans, Patrick Wautelet, Gérôme Arnold as well as Pierre Delvenne (who is also the project promoter) have all read and enriched my file. I really felt carried and supported, despite the distance.

I was also able to count on the support of my partner, who adapted her own professional life to move with me and our baby to Munich. It is sometimes not talked about enough that the mobility expected from researchers is not easy to reconcile with family life and is not always accessible to everyone.

What are the next steps for you?

My term starts in October. I will start by digging up the literature on the subject and begin my case studies, then I will return to Munich in the spring for the workshop I am preparing.

My project will also include new travels and research stays as I will study the case of 3 cities: Liege, Gothenburg in Sweden and Cambridge in the United Kingdom.

Hadrien Macq